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European Imperialism In Joseph Conrad's Heart Of Darkness

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Heart of darkness, by Joseph Conrad, is a prime example of European imperialist power over the lower less developed countries of Africa. Joseph Conrad’s book ensued many critics and other authors to question if Conrad was a racist. Heart of Darkness is based on real-life events that occurred in the Congo during 1879 to 1887, involving the Belgian government’s imperialization of the Republic of Congo. It begins with the main character Marlow on the deck of a British ship called the Nellie, anchored on the coast of the Thames. Four other men relax on the deck of the ship: the Director of Companies, who is also the captain and host, the Lawyer, the Accountant, and the unnamed Narrator. The five men, old friends held together by “the bond of the sea". The narrator is unnamed, but it has been concluded to have been Joseph Conrad himself. Marlow then begins to narrate a personal experience in Africa, which led him to become a sailor and the terrible glimpse of colonization he saw. Marlow had been sent there to Congo to replace a captain who was killed in a skirmish with the natives. He learns of very little about the natives living there and it seems like he doesn’t really care about how the natives are being treated, but then we see him give some biscuit to a poor native which shows he cares, but at the same time, the things going on concerning the natives doesn’t really bother him. Marlow is obsessed with meeting Kurtz, who was like the main ivory operator, and who is

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